1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to the field of dental implements and, more particularly, to dental implements for evacuating fluids and other materials from a dental patient's mouth.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art:
It is a matter of common experience and knowledge that when dental work is being performed in a patient's mouth--whether the work is the cleaning of teeth; the drilling of teeth and installation of fillings, crown and the like; or the performing of oral surgery--it is necessary that the working area of the mouth be kept free of fluids and debris. These fluids may include saliva, blood, liquid used with drilling, and/or rinsing liquids, and the debris may be drilling "dust", broken pieces of teeth, and/or pieces of fillings. It is also important, for the patient's comfort, to keep fluids from accumulating in the patient's mouth so that the fluids and debris are not swallowed and the patient can, if necessary, breath through his or her mouth.
Commonly, a suction device is periodically used to keep the dental work area clean and the patient's mouth relatively clear of fluids and debris. Such suction devices typically comprise a relatively rigid--and often disposable--suction tube, which is connected to a long flexible hose, which is, in turn, connected to a vacuum source.
Although it is a common procedure, while a dentist is working on a tooth, for a dental assistant to manipulate the suction tube so as to maintain a clean work area and enable good visibility for the dentist of the tooth being worked on, this procedure is not always convenient for the dentist. For example, the dental assistant may be unable to anticipate the dentist's moves in the patient's mouth and may thus be unable to keep the end of the suction tube out of the dentist's way. As a consequence, the dentist may prefer to do the evacuation of fluids and debris from the patient's mouth himself or herself. Also, a dental assistant may not always be available to manipulate a suction tube, but may be needed for such other routine and important tasks as processing X-rays, preparing filling compounds, and cleaning dental instruments.
In order for a dentist to work on a patient's tooth, for example, to drill into the tooth in preparation for installing a filling or to perform some other dental operation, such as rootcanal, it is usually necessary for the dentist to use an instrument to push or pull soft tissue regions of the patient's mouth away from the work area. This may be necessary to provide a more unrestricted view of the work area or to prevent accidental injury to the patient's mouth. Sometimes, a dental mirror may be used for retracting tissue or other specialized dental implements may be used. However, problems result when both a substantial amount of tissue retraction and fluid evacuation is needed. In such instances, the working area of a patient's mouth may become crowded with dental implements to an extent that the dentist's task becomes very difficult to perform. Moreover, it may be necessary for the dentist to frequently and repeatedly shift between tissue retraction and fluid evacuation implements, thereby requiring a longer time for the dental task being performed and adding to the patient's discomfort. Also, the possibility is increased for making an error in the dental work being performed when the work area in the patient's mouth is congested with dental implements or when the dentist is required to repeatedly shift between dental implements.
It is, therefore, a principal objective of the present invention to provide a single dental implement which combines the features of both a generally conventional fluid aspirator or evacuation device and a soft tissue retraction device. As a result, a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, or the like can shift between the evacuation of fluids from a patient's mouth and the retracting of soft tissues from a patient's mouth without the necessity for changing dental implements each time. Dental tasks are thereby made more efficient and the risk of error is reduced, as is, in general, patient discomfort.